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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: his short life
Born: Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart on 27 January, 1756.
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His father, Leopold, was a musician at the court of the Archbishop of Salzburg, and later became Court Composer.
Wolfgang could play complicated pieces of music on the piano aged four, and at five he was composing, with his father writing down the creation.
Leopold, knowing that people would see his children as special and talented, took them on tour across Europe to play music to the public and Royal Courts.
At the age of 8, Mozart began to write his first symphony
In 1771, Mozart was given a part time job at the Archbishop's court. The new Archbishop Colloredo did not appreciate music, and his frosty personality made Amadeus's life intolerable.
He hated Colloredo's manipulative, condescending and poisonous attitude.
In 1777, he quit his post at Salzburg and travelled to Mannheim and Paris with his mother, who unfortunately died during the journey. He returned to Salzburg, and back into the service of the Archbishop Colleredo.
The Archbishop was summoned to Vienna, with his musical servants for the coronation of the new emperor Joseph II. Colleredo handed out numerous humiliations to Mozart, one of which was making him sit at the household servants' table during a banquet.
In 1781, he quit the Archbishop's service again after a heated exchange, and left Salzburg to pursue a freelance career in Vienna, as a composer.
The next ten years of his life are perhaps without parallel in history as the greatest decade of creative genius.
In 1782, Mozart married Constanze Weber. He settled down with his new wife in Vienna, and made money teaching, composing and giving public performances of his new work.
While in Vienna, he made the acquaintance of composer Franz Joseph Haydn. The two became close friends and the older composer's music had a profound influence on Mozart.
Between 1782 and 1785, he composed a series of six string quartets which he dedicated to Haydn.
From 1784, Mozart took advantage of playing the Lenten Season concerts, from which he could make the public more aware of his new work.
Although his financial problems were very apparent, the Vienna Court Composer Antonio Salieri, who was more popular than Mozart in his day, schemed against Mozart by stopping him from getting a coveted court position.
In 1785, Amadeus started work on his new opera The Marriage of Figaro with Lorenzo da Ponte providing the words. It was first performed 1786, after it was delayed by Salieri.
Just before Mozart finished his new opera, Don Giovanni (1787) his father Leopold died. The opera went ahead and was a big success in Prague, where it was premiered. Unfortunately, it went down less well in Vienna, where he was beginning to become less fashionable among the fickle Vienna public.
Amadeus was especially productive in his last four years, churning out one masterpiece after another. Examples include Horn Concertos 1, 3 and 4, Clarinet Concerto and Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, which means A Little Night Music in English.
In the summer of 1791, a mysterious figure clad in grey arrived on Mozart's doorstep,
and announced that his anonymous master, who was Count Franz von Walsegg-
Mozart accepted.
Unfortunately, due to a hectic workload which included the completion of two operas; La Clemenza di Tito and The Magic Flute, Mozart was unable to start work on the requiem until October, 1791, by which time he was beginning to suffer from the illness which would eventually claim his life
At the beginning of December, 1791, Amadeus was bed ridden, suffering from a raging temperature and swollen joints. Mozart's musical friends and pupils joined him at his bedside to sing the Requiem he was trying to finish.
On the evening 4 December, 1791, the doctor was called to Mozart's house. Mozart was sinking fast; he had a high fever, red hot forehead and he was covered in sweat.
The Doctor eventually arrived at 11pm and prescribed cold compresses to be placed across Mozart's head. As soon as the cold cloths were applied he lost consciousness forever.
He died a few hours later, on the morning of 5 December, 1791 at the tender age of 35 years. His final utterances were the drum patterns he was describing for the Requiem.
Before his death, Mozart had completed sketches for the first seven sections of the Requiem Mass and explained to his pupils FX Freysadtler, Joseph Eybler and Franz Sussmayr how to complete it.
All three pupils worked on the Requiem and had their individual part to play in its finished state.
Mozart was buried in a communal, unmarked grave on the 6 December, 1791 in the graveyard of St Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna.
Article with kind permission of the BBC
My Favourites
For me, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is one of the greatest music composers who ever lived. His name and the word 'genius' are often bandied about together by music writers and critics and many would argue rightly so.
He had a fantastic ear for writing a catchy tune with perfect orchestral arrangement. His compositions have a rich and distinctive sound; it can be said that in his brief lifetime (only 35 years) that he wrote a masterpiece in every genre of classical music without much apparent effort.
Some say he was the grandfather of Jazz, others, Rock – what ever your point of view none can dismiss his influence on all types of music we listen to today.
This, of course, makes the task of picking my favourites difficult, as I can hardly think of a piece of his music I don’t love. He is my all time favourite classical composer.
During the early 60's when my brother Robert was home from Music College and practicing the French Horn in his bedroom, Mozart’s Horn Concerto was constantly heard (sometimes painfully!) in our house. Every time I hear it, wonderful memories come flooding back.
I can say there are not many days in my life when I don’t hear his music, I find
I can switch from Mozart to my other all time favourite -
But, I guess if I had to pick just one piece to take to that desert island it would have to be:
Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra No1 in F Minor, Op 73.
My favourite recording of this outstanding piece: (only one of several!)
Deutshe Grammophon 136550 SLPEM (stereo -
I bought this recording whilst stationed in Germany in 1970 – since then I have obtained other fine recordings of the Concerto, but I find Karl Leister’s interpretation of the Adagio(in particular) perfectly captures Mozart’s objective of writing the most profoundly expressive movement for a solo instrument.
I never fail to be moved by it.
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